The first time Gray sees Jellal Fernandes, he knows he is done for.
He meets Jellal through Lyon. Jellal works at the library Lyon frequents every so often when he feels he's thumbed through his book collection too many to pick up one from it. When Gray's local library closes down, as a tired college student (read tired corpse), he is obligated to go to this 'amazing library' that Lyon describes as having a really good selection of novels, research books, magazines and whatnot.
The instant Gray lays eyes upon Jellal, he knows exactly what that evil glint in Lyon's eyes was.
Damn it all! he curses the silver-haired devil that is his cousin.
For once, for once, he thought his brother would be nice and kind and show him to a library where there are no stunningly hot boys to distract Gray, he thought he could ignore the look on Lyon's face, passing it off as his usual smug smirk, but no. Lyon's not that nice, and Gray should know that by now.
Jellal is tall, half an inch taller than even Gray himself. He's got natural blue hair – now Gray would be sceptical, but one of his ex-boyfriends and current best friend has natural bright pink hair, so yeah - and a strange red tattoo working its way down the right side of his face. Oh, and did Gray mention that Jellal has the most beautiful, kindest brown eyes that seem to hold the entire universe in them, constellations, asteroids and all? His smile is like the sun, and it lights up Gray's world every time Jellal so much as looks at him.
In short, this boy is perfect, and Gray does not know whether to kill or thank Lyon for this gift from the heavens.
He decides to hold off on both, preferring to maintain that he is in no way interested in how pretty Jellal is, or how his brown eyes sparkle just so when the light hits them.
"Ugh!" Gray grunts as he searches through the racks for a book; he knows he saw it here yesterday. it can't have gone, there aren't many people who even know who Stephen Hawking or Richard Feynman or Michael Faraday are, let alone like their –
"Are you looking for The Dreams That Stuff Is Made Of?" a kind voice comes from behind him.
Gray turns around, almost losing his balance, and is surprised to see Jellal, a small blush on his cheeks, holding in his hands the very book Gray has been wanting for so, so long.
"Yes, oh my god," he says in surprise, reaching out to take it. "How did you-"
"Not many people like this book, it's been checked out exactly three times," says Jellal, hand scratching his neck. He gives a small chuckle, and Gray knows that he would pay good money to just listen to that one sound for the rest of his life. "I love physics, and I thought I would try it,"
Gray's jaw drops. "Me too," he says. "It's so interesting!"
"You really think so?" Jellal's pretty eyes widen, and he smiles. "That's awesome. We should talk sometime. I guess you know my name because it's on my card," here he laughs a little, and it sounds like the peal of bells in heaven, "but I never caught yours,"
"Gray," Gray says, breathless. "I'm Gray Fullbuster."
Jellal smiles in amazement. "no way. Ultear's little brother?"
"You know Ul?" Gray questions in surprise.
"Yeah. She's my best friend's girlfriend," grins Jellal.
"Wait, what?!" Gray leaps up. "You're Erza Scarlet's best friend? You're that Jellal? The one she just won't shut up about, the guy who took care of her till her real family located her? I should have known, Jellal isn't a common name,"
"Yup," Jellal says with a proud smile. "Erza's mentioned you a couple of times to me. There was a lot of winking and suggestive smiling involved," he says thoughtfully. "She has a tendency to act really weird at times."
Gray blushes to the tips of his ears and looks away. He knows exactly what Erza means when she looks like that.
"Anyway, I should be getting back to work." Jellal says with a little smile, handing the book out to Gray. "It was nice meeting you, Gray Fullbuster!" And he runs off.
Gray stares after Jellal's retreating back, the spot where his fingers brushed against Jellal's burning oddly.
Damn it all, he curses himself. Damn you, Jellal Fernandes.
It has been exactly three months, sixteen days, ten hours and forty-five seconds since Gray met Jellal.
Not like he's counting, of course. Certainly not.
Not like he wheedled out Jellal's birthday (Jellal did the same, he might add) and wrote it into his phone calendar – it's the fourteenth of November – so he can wish the guy a happy birthday.
Not like he likes him. No, not at all.
Jellal now regularly makes it a point to say a hello to Gray and ask him how he's doing every time he drops by.
(Which is becoming more and more frequent. Of course, Gray refuses to admit that it's for Jellal – he stubbornly maintains that it's because the books at his own local library aren't enough for him anymore, but even he struggles to believe that nowadays.)
Gray makes it a point to blush a little and stammer out, "Thanks. I'm doing okay, how about you?"
And then Jellal will inevitably launch into a story about Erza's friend Millianna and her cats – "terrible, nasty creatures,", Jellal rants – a story Gray would have heard from Erza not an hour before, but he finds himself listening avidly, hanging off of every word that comes out of Jellal's mouth.
"And then – and then the stupid thing nearly ripped apart a sweater I'd been working on for almost a month," Jellal yells exasperatedly, clutching fistfuls of his pretty blue hair. "I'm making it for someone really special, see, and I can't afford any more expensive yarn!"
"I didn't know you knitted," says Gray. He really didn't – but it isn't that surprising. Jellal is the kind of guy who seems like he likes knitting, and baking cookies, and all that sort of grandmotherly thing.
What is surprising is that Jellal is poor. His polite, cultured demeanour and excellent grooming wouldn't tell you that. But, well, it shouldn't be so surprising – Gray himself comes from a large business family, and is currently studying to be its next head, but you can't tell by looking at the scruffy mess he is. Gray almost offers to buy Jellal some more yarn just in case, but bites his tongue. It might come across as very rude.
"Not many people do," Jellal says with a little smile. "I feel like I can tell you anything, though."
Gray's breath hitches.
"Y – yeah," he says nervously. "Yeah, sure."
It's ten am on the fourteenth of November, and Gray stands outside the library, chewing his lip, holding the little wrapped gift in his hand.
Should he be doing this?
Probably not.
Is it a thing that friends do for each other?
Are he and Jellal even friends?
Shut up, me.
Gray takes a breath in and pushes the doors open. It's too late now – he can't turn back, and he won't.
I'm going to do this.
He walks in and sees none other than Jellal, lifting a cupcake to his mouth to take a bite. Gray can tell it's strawberry on instinct, knowing what kind of cake Erza likes to give her friends on their birthdays. It has a little number twenty on it, and Gray smiles a bit – that's cute of her. He knows she baked it herself.
"Hey," Gray greets.
"Gray?" Jellal sets his cake down. "Hi! How are you doing today?"
Gray shoves the gift at him and attempts to smile. "Happy birthday."
Jellal gasps. "You remembered?"
Gray shifts in place. "Well, yeah? Is that a question?"
"No, but-" he pulls the wrapper open, long fingers careful not to tear it. It's cute how he is so meticulous about it.
Friends can be thought of as cute. They can, Gray insists to himself.
He is brought out of his thoughts as Jellal gasps, eyes flying wide open. He stares disbelievingly at the brand-new (second-generation, but Gray feared buying the new fourth-generation one would be going overboard) iPod Touch in his palm.
"Gray – I can't accept this-" he begins, pushing it back towards him. "It must have cost you a fortune, how even-"
Gray cuts him off with a slight blush. "It's not a problem. You mentioned you like Linkin Park. It has all their albums except The Hunting Party because you don't like that one. What are friends for, stupid? Just accept the gift."
Jellal looks in awe at the iPod. "Thank you, Gray, but-" He puts it back in Gray's hands.
"Jellal, take it. It's really not a problem. Trust me." Gray says firmly, closing Jellal's fingers around the touchscreen device. "The earphones are in the case, too," he adds, pointing at the neat little pile of wrapper on the desk. "Try it out – I hear the sound quality is amazing."
Jellal stares at him unsurely. "Gray-"
Gray grabs the box with a roll of his eyes, pulls out the earphones, plugs them into the iPod and shoves one into Jellal's ear.
"Pick a song," he whispers, putting the other one into his own ear.
Jellal hesitates, but turns the iPod on, shuffling through the song list. He stops and smiles at one name, then presses the 'start' button.
Gray's eyes widen as the first bars of his favourite song begin to play in his ears.
"Castle of Glass," he realises.
"'Cause I'm only a crack in this castle of glass," Jellal sings along. He has the voice of an angel as well.
They spend some time listening to all Jellal's favourite songs – which happen to be Gray's as well. Iridescent is a particular hit with the both of them.
"So let it go, let it go," hums Jellal.
(If he's being completely honest, Gray is more listening to Jellal sing along in bliss than anything.)
And they stay like that for a long while, until Gray realises he has to meet Lucy for their English project. They're assigned partners, and she'll kill him if he's late.
"Jellal, I have to go. I'm meeting a friend for a project, I'm really sorry!" he says with a bow of apology.
Jellal's eyes widen. "Don't you dare apologise, you've given me the best gift you could," he says vehemently. "I – I can't thank you enough."
Gray smiles a little awkwardly and runs out of the library with a "You're welcome!".
Jellal Fernandes has him so screwed.
Fast forward to the twenty-fifth of December, Christmas.
And also, Gray's nineteenth birthday.
Gray grins as his cousin Juvia whirls him around one last time before going off to dance with her girlfriends, Levy and Mirajane. "See you!" he calls after her, and she turns back to shoot him a smirk.
"Waiting on someone?" Erza asks, sidling up next to him with a suggestive smile. "Someone by the name of Jellal Fernandes?"
"No," Gray says. "And that wasn't subtle at all, Erza."
"Mm, I know." Erza grins. "But dense idiots like the two of you don't get subtlety, so…"
"I invited him, but he said he might be a bit busy." Gray says hastily. "Said not to wait on him. So that's exactly what I'm not doing."
"Would be a shame," says a familiar voice from behind him.
Gray turns in shock to see Jellal, holding a lumpy wrapped present in his arms. The wrapping has flying reindeer and a little Santa on it – it must be old Christmas paper, but it's the effort that counts, and Gray can't stop a small smile from painting itself onto his face. He's excited, he realises, something he hasn't been all night – happy, yes, for his closest family is here, but not excited.
"You came," Gray breathes. Erza has slipped off to god knows where, but Gray is glad she isn't here, to be honest.
Jellal laughs. "Took me a while. Nice place you got here. I see now why the iPod wasn't a problem."
And the way he says it, so light-hearted and friendly unlike a lot of others, warms Gray's heart.
"Yeah," he says quietly.
Jellal looks a little ashamed of himself, handing the gift to Gray. "It's not cool, like anything you're probably used to," he says uncomfortably. "But, well, this is the most I could do. Sorry."
Gray rolls his eyes and takes the gift. "It's fine – it's really nice of you to even get me a gift, Jellal," he says.
Gray holds the lumpy package tentatively. It is soft and pillow-like, and he can almost guess what's inside. He takes his time to unwrap it, unwinding each piece of cheap Sellotape slowly and carefully.
Once he is done, a beautiful cream sweater spills into his arms. Gray kneels and puts the wrapper on the floor, holding up the lovely knitted article of clothing. It has an exquisitely detailed snowflake, in varying shades of blue – is that silk – in the centre, and two simple bands of the same blue silk near the wrists and neckline. It's knitted even better than most of the luxury brands you'd see in stores, and Gray clutches the fabric to his chest. It must be custom-made – it's absolutely beautiful, and Gray wants to put it on immediately.
"This must have cost you so much-" he says in shock. "It's got to be custom-made, you wouldn't see anything so amazing in a store-"
Jellal shakes his head with a smile. "I knit, remember?"
Gray's jaw drops, and he recalls a certain conversation between himself and Jellal.
"And then – and then the stupid thing nearly ripped apart a sweater I'd been working on for almost a month," he'd ranted, and then explained why it was so important.
"I'm making it for someone really special, see,"
That special someone…
Was him.
Gray shakes his head.
"You went to all that trouble, spent money on real, actual silk – for me?!" he says in utter disbelief.
Jellal rubs his head. "It wasn't that much trouble," he answers. "Really, Gray, it's not much at all,"
"Shut up," Gray says, staring at the masterpiece in his hands. "I'm wearing this right now."
And to prove his point, he shucks off the suit jacket he's been wearing all night and slips into the cosy comfort of the sweater instead. It feels even more amazing than it looks, and Gray lets out a sigh of pleasure.
Jellal stares at him, and Gray cannot fathom why until –
"God, I can't take this anymore," he breathes, and suddenly his hands are on Gray's hips, pulling him closer, and then he smashes his mouth into Gray's.
Gray makes an 'Mmph!' noise at first, startled by the sudden kiss, but soon melts into it, kissing back with equal vigour. Jellal's hands trace Gray's hips, coming up to rest in his hair, and Gray's hands draw patterns on his back, pulling him closer, closer, closer till there is no room between them anymore.
The kiss is soft and sweet and loving and fiery and passionate all at the same time. Gray's insides are on fire, and his heart is burning with something he cannot place. Sure, he's been kissed, has kissed others before, but not like this. Never like this.
"Shit," he gasps when they finally break apart for air.
Jellal's cheeks are red. His eyes are wide. His tattoo is almost invisible with how much he's blushing.
"I'm sorry – I shouldn't have done that. I crossed a line. I have to go. I better go." he gabbles and runs off.
"Jellal – wait!" Gray shouts, trying to chase after him, hand outstretched. But Jellal has melted into the huge crowds, and Gray cannot spot him anymore.
He sinks onto the floor, clutching fistfuls of his new sweater.
The next day, Gray marches into the library to see Jellal looking sadly into a book – the same physics book, The Dreams That Stuff Is Made Of.
He walks straight up to the older boy and grabs his collar.
Jellal looks up in surprise. "Gray-" he begins.
"No," Gray half-shouts. "I'm not letting you run away. It doesn't matter if you can't describe it – we both feel this way. I've liked you from the minute I saw you. Your cuteness and your personality didn't help matters."
"I – what?" Jellal looks absolutely furious. "There is no way someone like you deserves someone like me. I'm not good enough. I bet you hated that kiss."
"I don't know how it felt – it was too short for me to tell." Gray says. "Kiss me again and I'll tell you exactly what I think."
And he doesn't wait for an answer, pulling Jellal's body towards his. Melding their lips.
The kiss is eternity itself to Gray, and when they finally resurface to breathe, he says in a daze, "That was the best kiss I've ever had."
"What-"
"Go out with me, Jellal." Gray's daze is gone now. He leans his elbows on the desk and stares into Jellal's eyes. "Go out with me."
"Okay." Jellal mutters.
"And that is the story of how Gray and Jellal ended up getting married like the idiots they are," Erza announces proudly, lifting her glass. "To the grooms!"
They all drink, and the newlyweds share a shy glance.
Jellal places his palm over Gray's.
He smiles, and Gray smiles back.
Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me.